Knitting machine



4 Feb. 20, 1934. E. WILDT El AL KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 23, 1929 lHVENTGRS! zu wu M M1 Patented Feb. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ter, England, assignors to Wildt and Company Limited, Leicester, England, a British company Application December 23, 1929, Serial No. 415,963, and in Great Britain January 8, 1929 2 Claims.

This invention consists in improvements in or relating to knitted patterned fabrics, methods of knitting such fabrics and knitting machines therefor. An object or the invention is to produce in a novel manner improved patterns by the introduction of Wale-threads. They may be introduced as extra threads of the same or different colour with respect to the ground-thread or they may be considered and may appear as plating threads.

According to the present invention a method of patterning consists in feeding to the needles, in addition to a ground-thread, Wale-threads which, where required for the pattern desired, are shogged over one or more needles on the fronts of the needles so that the shogged portions of the threads are taken into the hooks of the needles in accordance with a predetermined selection.

In United States application, Serial No. 341,- 874 a mechanism is described by which walethreads when they are not to appear at the front of the fabric can be interlocked at the back of the fabric so as to avoid loose threads; and where they appear at the front they are plated over a ground-thread. It is clear that a similar mechanism may be used in the present case to obtain a similar result as will be briefly referred to hereinafter.

Wherever the threads are shogged for the production of the design it is preferred that they should be shogged always so as to pass across the fronts of the needles to be taken into the hooks thereof. Shogging may take place over one, two or more needles at a time and in any desired sequence right or left.

The Wale-threads, where they are drawn to the back of the fabric, need not be interlocked with the stitches thereof and may, if preferred, appear as floating threads.

The term interlocked used herein and in the appended claims has a special meaning in the sense that when a Wale-thread is to be thrown to the back of the fabric so that it will not appear on the front and, moreover, is not to float freely at the back of the fabric from one course to another, it is lapped around and interlinked with the loops of the ground-thread sinker wales on each side before passing to the next course.

Thus, by ensuring that a Wale-thread lapping on a needle is either laid on the needle, or the needle is subsequently adjusted in a manner to be described later, so that the Wale-thread lapping is at a position below the opened latch before the thread is cleared from the needle, interlocking will occur.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, one example of a mechanism by which it may be carried into eifect will now be described in detail with the aid of the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section of a machine having a stationary needle-cylinder and a revolving cam-box in which only the more important portions necessary for the understanding of the invention are shown.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing only the cam-dial and cams for the walethread feeders,

Figure 3 is a view looking from the left of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 shows the feeders illustrated in Figure 3 in their positions relatively to the needles.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In Figure 1 the needle-cylinder is indicated at 10 and above the cylinder and coaxial therewith is a supporting spindle 11 carrying at its lower end the Wale-thread feeder-head and actuating cams therefor. The spindle 11 is journalled in a fixed sleeve 12 at the end of a bracket 13 extending inwardly from an upright support 14. A clamping screw 12a serves to clamp the spindle l1 and the sleeve l2-together in desired positions of adjustment. It enables the spindle and patterning head to be lifted away from the cylinder when the screw is loosened to give access to the needles. The spindle 11 is slidably held in the sleeve 12- and is capable of being raised'ina'nually to permit elevation of the feeder-head to such a position above the needle-cylinder 10, that ready access to the needles, etc., may be had. Attached to the lower end of the spindle 11 is a sleeve 15 through which the threads pass on their way down to the feeders, and upper and lower bearing plates 16 and 17. The lower plate is formed with radial slots in which are received L-shaped Wale-thread feeders 18 and these slots are so formed, as shown in Figure 3, that a swinging movement of the depending portions of the yarn-guides is permitted for the purpose to be described later. Between the plates 16 and 17 the cam-plate 19 is revolubly mounted and carries on it cams 20 and 21 to be described more fully below.

The cam-dial 19 has secured to it a driving dog 22 which is engaged by a driver-lever 23 attached to the cam-box, which latter is not illustrated. The lever 23 is adjustable into and out of engagement with the dog 22. Thus, as the cam-box is rotated, the driver 23 will, when it is engaged with the dog as illustrated, transmit rotation to the cam-plate 19 by which means the cams are revolved around the axis of the cylinder.

Except for shogging movements described below, the guide-plate 1'7 for the feeders l8, and the feeders themselves, are therefore held static-nary in respect of rotation about the axis of the machine. I

Figure 2 shows clearly the forms of the cam 20 and 21 as seen in plan, whereas Figure 3 shows clearly the profile of the active surface of cam 21. The cam 20 is virtually constituted by two rings affording a cam groove between them which, for its major part, is circular and is concentric with the axis of the machine but at 24 has two cam slopes by which engagement with upwardly-projecting butts formed on the Wale-thread feeders 18 will firstly draw the feeders inwardly and then almost immediately return them outwardly. The direction of rotation of the cams is indicated by the arrow in Figure 2.

The thread-feeders are capable of rocking about an axis that is radial with respect to the axis of the machine so that by this rocking movement the thread-guiding eyes at their lower extremities will be swung sideways. This swinging movement is obtained by means of a cam 21 which is shown in engagement with the upwardly-extending butts of the two upper threadfeeders in Figure 3 which corresponds to the middle and left-hand feeders of Figure 4. The feeder is, therefore, rocked by the cam 21 from the position in which its dependent portion will be hanging vertically downwards as in the right-hand feeder of Figure 4 or the bottom feeder of Figure 3, to the inclined position shown in connection with the other feeders of Figures 3 and 4, and when the cam 21 leaves the feeder-butts they will move in succession back to the vertical position under the influence of a spring 118. Each spring is a wire spring coiled at 119 and secured in position by screws 120. By the joint action of the cams 20 and 21 the Wale-thread feeders 18 are caused to wrap their threads round apppropriate needles. Described more particularly, the wrapping action is as follows: 7 The thread-feeders, in their normal positions, hang vertically downwards in front of or outside the needle-circle. Some needles are shown at 100 in Figure 4 at a height at which they will receive the Wale-threads. As the cams rotate in the direction of the arrow relatively to the needles, the feeders will first be swung sideways by the cam 21; then, while so inclined, will be moved inwardly to a position behind the needlecircle by the cam-rise 24; and immediately thereafter they will be released from the cam 21 so as to return to the vertical position before being restored by cam 20 to a position in front of or outside the needle-circle, thus completing the wrapping.

For the purpose ofshogging the thread, the spindle 11 is turned about its axis by the following means:

A pin 25 extends radially from the upper end of the spindle 11 and engages a forked extremity of an endwise-movable bar 26. The latter is normally held by a spring 27 in one direction, that is, to the right of Figure 1, and it is moved against the action of the spring by an oscillating lever 28, the upper end of which engages the end of the bar 26 by means of an adjust screw 29, the lower end of which is controlledby cams 30 insertable into a pattern-drum 31. The heights of the cams 30 determine the amount of movement to be imparted to the bar 26 and the cams shown in Figure 1 represent four successive shogging movements by means of which the thread-guides are on each movement shogged an equal amount progressively in one direction with respect to the needles.

As has been before stated, the mechanism may embody jacquardselecting mechanism, similar to that described in United States specification, Serial No. 341,874, for enabling the Wale-threads to be passed to the back of the fabric when desired; and the mechanism comprises essentially a platen 32, cooperating selectors 33, and a perforated jacquard-band 34. In known manner the jacquard-band is moved for each selective operation to bring a row of perforations beneath the feeler-pins 35 of the selectors 33 and those pins beneath which perforations are provided will drop into slots in the platen 32 so that as the latter is rotated (in a clockwise direction) the selectors whose pins have thus been engaged will be moved forwardly to the chain-line position shown. In this position, cams 36 which rotate about the axis of the machine, will raise the selectors 33. Those which have been projected by the platen beneath needle-jacks 37 will raise each such needle to a height greater than that at which the thread is passed into the needlehook. That is to say, the threads fed to the needles that have thus been raised to the extra height will be passed round the needle-shanks to lie below the opened latches of the needles (in a latched needle machine) so that when the needles are next drawn down by the stitch-cam those that have been thus raised will throw their Wale-thread loops to the back of the fabric. Those selectors 33 for which no perforations are provided beneath the pin 35 will not be moved by the jacquard mechanism will occur prior to the cam 21 reaching the position of selection. Thus, threads wrapped round the needles by the combined action of cams 20 and 21 will be effective at two different positions on the needles according to whether they have been selected or not. Alternatively, the needle selection may be made after the needles have been wrapped with their Wale-threads and before they are drawn down by the stitch-cam in knitting the ground thread. For example, the Wale-threads will first of all be passed round the needles when they are at a position similar to that of needles 100 in Figure 4 so that the threads are all laid into the needle-hooks. Before the action of the stitch-cam occurs, however, jacquard selection will be made in the manner above described to raise some needles to a height at which their latches will clear the Wale-thread loops formed round those selected needles. Thereafter the stitch-cam will act on the needles and those that have been raised to this greater height will, as before, throw their Wale-thread loops to the back of the fabric and this will occur in accordance with the selection made by the jacquard mechanism. In all cases in which the loops are by this extra raising of the needles caused to pass to the back of the fabric they will be interlocked with the ground-thread stitches in known manner.

It will be readily understood that by a suitable arrangement of cams 30 the perforations of the jacquard-band 34 and the control of movement of the drum 31 a large variety of patterns can be produced in accordance with the present invention.

As is customary in Wale-thread feeder mechanism of this type in which shoggtng is to occur, there will be an area that is not intended to be patterned because at the time shogging takes place there must be no feeders in the inclined spaces of the cam-rise 24. Should any feeders be in those inclined spaces shogging would be impossible because the feeders would bind on the sides of the cam-rise. With those feeders, however, which are in the coaxial circular portion of the cam-track, shogging can take place because the feeders will move round the circle quite freely and when shogging occurs all those feeders which are in the circular cam-track can be moved round the axis of the machine relatively to the needles without hindrance. This distribution of feeders is shown clearly in Figure 2 in which at the top there is shown a gap between adjacent feeders larger than those between other adjacent feeders in the feeder head and large enough to subtend the angle necessary to include the cams 20 and 21.

It will be understood that various shogging devices are Well known for moving Wale-threads at the back of predetermined needles in order to shift the Wale-thread feeders from one set of needles to another. In such devices the walethreads are floated during this movement at the back of the fabric and are not knitted into it. The present invention is distinguished from those earlier methods in that in accordance with the present invention the Wale-threads, when they are shogged for the production of the pattern to make plated designs, are laid on the fronts of the needles. This occurs because the normal position of the Wale-thread feeders 18 is the same as that of the right-hand feeder shown in Figure 1, and it is when the feeders are in this outermost position that the head is shogged.

If it is found that in shogging the threads in one direction over the needles the loops tend to burst, a sinker-wheel or sinker devices may be employed to draw the required length of thread to prevent bursting. This invention is particularly applicable to circular knitting machines although it is not limited thereto, neither is it limited to machines employing latch needles. It may be combined with other systems of patterning such, for instance, as that in which, at certain portions of the fabric, the threads are shogged behind the needles. A ground thread is diagrammatically indicated as fed to the needles at 121.

We claim:

1. A circular knitting machine comprising in combination Wale-thread feeders, means to move the feeders to wrap their threads round their needles and, in addition, means operable at a time when the feeders are in a position in front 100 of the needles so as to be adapted to feed their yarns thereto, to shog the feeders relatively to the needles either to the right or to the left at will over a greater number of needles than is possible by the wrapping movements of the 105 feeders.

2. In a knitting machine, the combination of a needle-cylinder, needles therein, a plurality of Wale-thread feeders carried in a rotatable head above the needles, cams serving to move the 1 feeders radially across the circle of needles and to deflect them to wrap their threads round their needles, and. additional means to turn the feeder-head relatively to the needles so as to shog the feeders circumferentially with respect to the axis of the needle-cylinder at a time when the feeders are in a position in front of the needles so as to be adapted to feed their yarns thereto.

EDWIN WILDT. 12G

HENRY HAROLD HOLMES. 

